Every
year since 1901, the Nobel Prize has been
awarded for outstanding contributions in
physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine,
literature and for peace. In 1968, Sveriges
Riksbank established The Sveriges Riksbank
Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of
Alfred Nobel, founder of the Nobel Prize.
All
prizes are presented on December 10, the
anniversary of Nobel's death. Each prize
consists of a medal, personal diploma, and
cash award (over 1 million Euros). For the
past few decades, the Nobel Prize is
considered to be the most prestigious prize
in the world.
Alfred
Nobel was the Swedish inventor of dynamite,
also, founder of the Nobel Prize, chemist,
scientist, inventor, engineer, entrepreneur,
author, weapons manufacturer, and pacifist.
Alfred Nobel invented dynamite in 1866 in
Krummel, Germany, and patented it later in
1876. After his death he left 31 million
Swedish Kronor (103,931,888.00 USD in 2007)
to fund the prizes.
Alfred
Nobel was a pacifist, which is highly
contradictory since he invented dynamite,
which had enormous use in many wars, but
also in industry. Furthermore, he owned a
company named Bofos, which was a major
weapons manufacturer. Bofos was founded in
1873, but it originates from the iron and
steel mill called Boofors, established in
1646.
From
the first Nobel Prize awarded in 1901, there
has been criticisms and controversies in
proceeding nominations, because it is
believed many individuals who really had the
greatest benefit on mankind did not win the
Prize.
For
instance, Thomas Edison, American inventor
and businessmen who developed many devices
such as the phonograph and light bulb. He
was the first one to apply principles of
mass production to the process of invention.
Nikola Tesla, Serbian inventor, physicist,
electrical and mechanical engineer. He
invented things that marked the modern era;
he is called "the man who invented the
20th century" and "the man out of
his time". He is most known for
alternating current (AC), induction motor,
rotating magnetic field, wireless
technology, among many others.
Dmitry
Ivanovich Mendeleyev, Russian chemist and
inventor. He was the originator of the
periodic table of the elements. Oswald
Theodore Avery, an American physicist who is
known for the discovery (along with his
co-workers) that DNA is the material of
which genes and chromosomes are made. Mohandas
Karamchand Gandhi, political and spiritual
leader of India and the Indian Independence
Movement. He is well-known to the world for
non-violence and truth advocacy. His
birthday October 2 is a national holiday in
India and is the International Day of
Non-Violence. He was nominated five times
for the Nobel Prize, but never got it.
Here
are a few individuals who won the Nobel
Prize that many believed to be
controversial:
Philipp
Eduard Anton von Lenard, Hungarian-German
physicist. He is the winner of the Prize in
physics for his research on cathode rays.
Later he was adviser to Adolf Hitler, Chief
of Aryan Physics and active proponent of
Nazi ideology.
Alexander
Fleming, Scottish biologist and
pharmacologist. He is the winner of the
Prize (shared prize) in medicine for his
discovery of penicillin. Many disputes the
fact that he was the first to discover
penicillin.
Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. American President
and the first American who received the
Nobel Prize. He is the winner of the Peace
Prize in 1905. During his presidency he
played an important role in the suppression
of a revolt in the Philippines.
Henry
Alfred Kissinger (Heinz Alfred Kissinger),
the US Secretary of State and National
Security Adviser. He is the winner of the
Peace Prize along with Le Duc Tho, however,
Tho declined the award. There is evidence
that Tho was involved in the secret bombing
campaign against infiltrating NVA in
Cambodia and Operation Condor. He also
supported the invasion of Cyprus. Kissinger
is wanted for questioning by officials in
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, France and Spain
for war crimes that he might have committed.
Mohammed
Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini
(Yasser Arafat), Shimon Peres and Yitzhak
Rabin are winners of the Peace Prize for the
negotiations in Oslo. Arafat was accused of
being associated with many violent acts. On
the other hand, Rabin was an Israeli
Military General who ordered the expulsion
of Arabs from areas captured by Israel
during the war in 1948.
Albert
Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr., Vice
President of the United States from
1993-2001. He is the winner of the Peace
Prize (shared) "for their efforts to
build up and disseminate greater knowledge
about man-made climate change and to lay the
foundations for the measures that are needed
to counteract such change."
During
his tenure as Vice President under President
Clinton, the US was involved in many
military operations including the bombing of
Bosnian Serbs by NATO, US led bombing of
Iraq and the US led bombing of Serbia in
which many people lost their lives, which
also had great impact on climate change,
pollution, illness, among others. Al
Gore is a fine actor who won an Oscar for
his role in "The Inconvenient
Truth.".
There
are people among us who dedicated their
lives to make a valuable contribution to
mankind in areas of physics, economics,
chemistry, physiology or medicine,
literature, peace, and it is expected for
these individuals to win the Prize, however,
many never got it. On the other side, many
of those with suspicious backgrounds, and
those who gave just a few months of their
lives for some cause won the Prize.
If
this trend continues, then in the next five
years we will see George W. Bush (present US
President) as a winner of the Nobel Peace
Prize for his noble efforts to bring peace
to all mankind by creating new wars in order
to prevent wars and terrorism. And maybe as
a winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics,
for his efforts in making the highest ever
oil price per barrel in history, and making
the war industry wealthier than ever, for
promising recessions, and for his
contribution in creating a devastating
financial situation in the United States.
Ivan Simic lives
in Belgrade, Serbia. Address: Paloticeva 12, 11000
Belgrade, Serbia, Tel:
+381
63
7508500.
Ivan
